Cholesterol is a waxlike and white substance that is present in some of the foods we eat. It is also manufactured by the cells in our body, but most importantly by the liver cells. A certain amount of cholesterol is extremelyimportant to maintaining good health.

It's not only an important component of cell walls, it is also essential for the body's production of some. For most people between 70 and 75 percent of the cholesterol in our blood is produced by their liver; the rest, about 30 percent comes from the food they eat. Your foods cholesterol, therefore, is something that you can change by your own efforts.

Your body requires fat and cholesterol in order to maintain good health. During infancy and childhood fat is essential for normal brain development; throughout life, it is essential to provide energy and support growth. Cholesterol is used to build the walls of cells throughout your body and for the manufacture of key essential substances such as hormones and vitamin D. That makes it important to have at least some fat and cholesterol available in your body at all times.

If cholesterol is needed for healthy bodily function, how is cholesterol bad for you! It's simple.The answer to these questions is simple. A certain amount of cholesterol is important for the body. But when blood cholesterol levels exceed 200mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter), you can be at risk for developing heart disease. It's the reason so many of us are looking for a high cholesterol cure.

Raised total blood cholesterol is clearly a modifiable heart disease risk factor. Many times heart attacks, bypass surgeries, angioplasties, and sudden cardiac deaths occur in people with total cholesterol levels above 200mg/dL. Cholesterol medication is used to help control those levels.

A better way to estimate risk of heart disease is to actually know your ratio of total cholesterol to good cholesterol. It's not just the total cholesterol level that tells you what your risk is: you actually need to know what your ratio is.

Always seek your doctor's advice for all health related issues. The information in this post is for information purposes only and is not intended to diagnose any ailment or suggest any treatment.